"Ooooooh! Don't you dare... underestimate me!"
A heavy slash rang out.
Count Alius, the Supreme Commander of the Kingdom of Mireana Army, swung a massive blade—better described as a giant sword than a longsword. The weapon, a greatsword nearly as tall as he was, hummed through the air as the elderly man shouted, bringing it down in a vertical cleave that split the boar-faced opponent standing in his way.
At first glance, the creature looked like nothing more than an Orc, but the resemblance ended at the face. A beetle-like shell covered its arms like organic armor, and two tentacle-like appendages sprouted from its flanks. It was a deformed being that defied the classification of a standard monster.
Furthermore, his surroundings were swarming with similar horrors—grotesque hybrids that seemed half-beast, half-human. While gazing down at the carcass he had just split in two, the elderly man struggled to steady his breathing.
"Whew... To think they would launch a surprise attack from the rear of the main camp. How did they circle around behind us? I gave orders to ensure the scouting was thorough."
Leaning his weight against his greatsword, Count Alius grumbled as he caught his breath.
"At this rate, the other factions will snatch all the glory. I headed for the battlefield despite knowing it was a gamble... but I never imagined it would come to this."
He looked around, surveying the scene where his remaining men were locked in a desperate struggle against the deformed soldiers.
While the individual combat strength of these beast soldiers was exceptionally high, their coordination was clumsy, likely due to their wildly varying physical forms. It was Alius’s assessment that if not for this lack of teamwork, his forces would have already been annihilated.
(...To think they would abandon me so easily. It seems I am quite unpopular with my peers. No, considering my past actions, I suppose it’s only natural.)
He bit back a bitter thought about the other nobles of the King's Faction, who had scattered the moment they realized the rear was being ambushed. In terms of raw numbers, the enemy wasn't overwhelmingly large. If the main force of the King's Faction had held their ground and met the charge together, they might have stood a chance. However, once the first few nobles panicked at the sight of the monsters, the rest followed suit. Now, only about sixty percent of the original troop count remained. Alius had hoped the units he'd sent forward to the front lines would return in time to salvage the situation, but he immediately shook the thought from his head.
He couldn't afford to pin his hopes on an uncertain future. He had to focus on surviving the immediate crisis.
Just then...
"My, Count Alius. It's a relief to see you're still among the living."
A man approached Alius with a weary, wry smile. He had clearly been through a grueling battle; his blade was stained crimson, and his armor was drenched in arterial spray.
"Siminal, is it? It seems you fared well enough."
Alius maintained a stern expression as he looked at the younger man, a fellow member of the King's Faction.
Siminal hadn't lived even half as long as Alius, but the Count recognized his talent. That was the only reason he had allowed the young noble to participate in the campaign. Of course, that recognition was purely based on how Siminal’s skill could help Alius secure more credit for himself; he had never expected to rely on him for survival.
"Indeed. But these creatures... what do you make of them? They certainly fit the descriptions of the 'beast soldiers' rumored to be in the Royal Capital."
"...Likely so. I had only heard whispers, but they are every bit as deformed as the rumors suggested."
The King's Faction had naturally intercepted the reports coming out of the City of Gilm. However, since they had never actually seen a beast soldier, they had dismissed the claims as exaggerations—or worse, lies spread by Margrave Larkus to cover up his own incompetence.
In truth, Rei had captured two specimens in Gilm: Koldo, who possessed a crab-like carapace, and Minas, whose body sprouted multiple tentacles. However, the guards had focused their attention on the more high-profile prisoner, Postgera, and an opening had been found to silence the two beast soldiers. Upon their deaths, their bodies had melted away like ice in the sun, leaving no evidence behind. If the corpses had remained, the King's Faction might have taken the threat more seriously.
"We shouldn't have swallowed Margrave Larkus's reports whole, but we certainly should have given them more weight," Siminal remarked.
Alius responded to the sigh by hoisting his greatsword back into a combat stance. Several more beast soldiers were closing in on them.
"Regrets won't help us now. The only thing that matters is surviving this. If we do, I’ll ensure that the fools who withheld information and the cowards who fled after begging for a share of the glory receive the 'reward' they deserve."
"...Count Alius, you were the one who insisted on gathering only those kinds of people for this war."
Siminal raised his longsword as well, bracing for the next wave.
From what they could see, they were undoubtedly being overwhelmed. If the supreme commander of the Kingdom of Mireana Army fell here, the remaining soldiers, knights, and nobles would break and flee in a total rout. If that happened, the war would be lost, and the Bestia Imperial Army would have a clear path into the heart of the Kingdom of Mireana.
"Good grief, this has turned into a disaster of epic proportions!" Siminal shouted.
He lunged forward, bringing his blade down in a diagonal slash toward a female beast soldier with grotesque flowers blooming from her head.
The plant-type beast soldier didn't even move her torso; instead, the roots growing from her lower body shifted her entire frame to the side. Her right hand, which had transformed into a vine covered in razor-sharp thorns, lashed out like a whip. It coiled around Siminal’s sword, pinning his weapon.
Since he was holding the sword with both hands, Siminal was effectively disarmed, and the creature already had a second thorn whip ready in her left hand.
"Oh, what a handsome one you are."
"I'd love to thank you for the compliment, but I'm a bit busy," Siminal strained.
"Is that so? A battlefield is the perfect place to see someone's true face, don't you think? Come now, let me embrace you. I'll give you a pleasure so intense you'll think you've ascended to heaven."
"Sorry, but you're not my type. I'll have to pass."
"My, my... a gentleman shouldn't make a lady feel rejected... you know!"
With a shrill cry, she lashed out with the thorn whip in her left hand. Siminal let go of his trapped sword and threw himself backward just in time.
"Hehehe, you're a tease. Now, here comes the next one. Try to dodge this!"
"Kh!"
Siminal drew a dagger from his belt, desperately parrying the incoming lashes. He wasn't entirely successful; the thorns shredded his clothes where his armor didn't cover him, leaving bloody furrows in his skin.
He checked on Alius out of the corner of his eye, seeing the Count bury his greatsword into an ant-faced beast soldier with a single, thunderous blow.
(He's strong.)
That was the only thought Siminal could manage.
"Oh dear, looking at someone else while I'm right here? Don't be so rude. Besides... I think you're finally starting to feel my 'charm,' aren't you?"
"...What?"
Siminal finally noticed the strange sensation. His arms, his legs, his entire body... every limb felt heavy and unresponsive.
"What... what did you... do...?"
Even his jaw was stiffening, making it hard to form words.
The female beast soldier gave him a predatory grin as she slowly glided forward on her mass of roots. Her slow pace wasn't due to a lack of speed; she was savoring the moment, toying with him.
"My charm is being etched into your very marrow."
"!?"
Siminal forced his head to move, looking down at his body. The shallow scratches from her thorn whips were leaking a small amount of blood.
"Could it be..."
"Oh, you've realized? Yes. These arms have the lovely ability to ensure my charm is thoroughly absorbed."
"Poison..."
"Now, now, don't be a naughty boy. I told you it was my charm, didn't I? I’ll have to punish such a naughty boy... won't I?"
With a sadistic smile, she raised both whips high.
"Make sure you scream beautifully for me!"
As she brought the whips down toward the paralyzed Siminal—
Slash!
"...Eh?"
The sound of confusion came from the creature herself. It wasn't Siminal who had been struck; his attacker's whips had been severed mid-air.
"I rushed here after hearing about the ambush, but I didn't expect to find things this dire."
Muttering to herself, the newcomer channeled magic power into her weapon, causing the segments to snap back together into a single longsword.
Glimmering blonde hair caught the sunlight, framing a face of sharp, dignified beauty. Siminal, collapsed on the ground, recognized her instantly.
"The... Princess General."
"Lord Siminal, I see. It appears I arrived... just barely in time."
Elena Kerebel spared him a brief glance before turning her attention to the female beast soldier. Her regal presence and striking beauty left a profound impression on Siminal’s heart.
He had known of her, of course—the Symbol of the Noble's Faction, famed for her beauty and her military prowess. But this was the first time he had seen the Princess General in her element on the field of battle.
(I see... no wonder the soldiers are so devoted to her.)
Even with his life on the line, he found himself captivated by her overwhelming charisma.
(Or perhaps it's precisely because my life is in danger that I'm drawn to someone I can truly rely on.)
As Siminal mused, the confrontation between the plant-type beast soldier and Elena began.
"I claimed that man first. Who do you think you are, trying to steal him away like some thieving cat?"
"I don't know about being a cat, but I cannot allow you to kill this man. ...If you withdraw now, I'll let you live."
Elena assumed a stance with her whip-sword. The beast soldier snorted and cracked her remaining whips against the ground.
"Hah! You've got quite the mouth on you. Looking at that face, you must be the famous Princess General. Since such a high-value target is here all alone, I’d say this is my lucky day!"
"It's true that I'm the only one standing directly in front of you. However... I don't recall saying I was the only one who arrived on this battlefield."
"...What?"
The creature looked around in alarm. The first thing she saw was a beast soldier with a turtle-like shell having its armor completely shattered by a massive power axe.
"No way! His defense is supposed to be impenetrable! How did she break it in one hit!?"
"Now that our Ara has her power axe, her single-strike power is likely among the highest in the entire Kingdom of Mireana. And naturally, every one of my subordinates is exceptionally capable."
True to her words, Elena's Escort Knight Order had fanned out across the battlefield, rescuing the King's Faction soldiers and Alius’s men.
As members of Elena's personal guard, their individual skills were elite, and their coordination was flawless. They were engaging the beast soldiers in small teams, holding their own against the monsters.
Fortune had favored them in one regard: the beast soldiers were scattered. The five hundred hybrids who had teleported in were spread out searching for Alius. The nobles who had fled early had inadvertently acted as decoys, drawing away the bulk of the attackers. Consequently, Alius’s rearguard was only facing about fifty enemies.
Between Siminal’s small group of survivors and the timely arrival of Elena and her escort knights, the scales of battle had finally reached a tentative equilibrium.
"They might be capable, but I wonder what happens once the Princess General is gone!"
The creature shrieked, lashing out with her whips.
The tips broke the sound barrier, generating shockwaves as they tore toward Elena. However—
"Naive!"
With a sharp cry, Elena swung her magic-infused whip-sword. In a single, fluid motion, she severed the tips of both whips simultaneously.
"Eh?"
The creature stood frozen, stunned by the sheer speed. Elena didn't hesitate.
"Clear the area!" she commanded.
Understanding her intent immediately, the escort knights grabbed the nearby King's Faction soldiers and forcibly dragged them back to a safe distance.
As the beast soldiers momentarily wavered, confused by the sudden retreat—
"Ancient dragon's magic power, manifest!"
With a short incantation, an explosive surge of magic power erupted from Elena's body. Behind her, a massive, spectral phantom dragon’s head, five meters in diameter, materialized in the air.
"Hieee!"
Even as a mere phantom, the sheer, overwhelming pressure emanating from it was enough to make the beast soldiers' knees buckle. The plant-type creature who had been mocking Elena just moments ago found herself paralyzed with terror.
"Laser Breath!"
Despair followed Elena's words. A searing light breath erupted from the phantom dragon's maw. In an instant, more than twenty beast soldiers caught in the line of fire were vaporized, leaving nothing behind.
"Hah... hah... hah... as expected, that takes a lot out of me."
This was Dragon Language Magic—a power normally reserved for ancient, sapient dragons. A fraction of that legendary might had just been unleashed.
The soldiers of the Kingdom of Mireana Army stared at Elena with a mixture of longing and holy dread, as if witnessing a goddess of myth descend to the earth.
Ten meters away, Alius stood over the bisected corpse of a beast soldier with a tiger's face and a monkey's tail. He caught his heavy breath, his brow furrowing as he watched Elena with a complicated gaze.